A House version sailed through with no opposition and would have ensured that thousands of Minnesotans can continue to test their skill and luck against other players for cash every day at the touch of a cellphone. Minnesotans by the thousands currently play daily fantasy, in which the contestant pays a fee to pick a roster, winning or losing based on the athletes' performance.

But the industry wanted formal recognition that the games are legal. Attorneys general in some states have declared daily fantasy play to be illegal online gambling, a fate industry advocates hope to avoid here.

In 2006, Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act but left an exception for “skill-based” contests such as fantasy sports, which quickly became a multimillion-dollar market dominated by DraftKings and FanDuel. The two companies have flooded the airwaves with ads and formed partnerships with the major sports leagues.

A Duluth native who just barely lost Virginia's GOP gubernatorial primary said that politicians have not gone far enough in condemning the left for violence during a rally of white nationalists in Charlottesville. "I think that the left is going to try to use this as an excuse to crack down on conservative free speech," said Corey Stewart. "I think they're going to try to use this as an excuse to remove more historical monuments."